Metropolitan State University of Denver, long known as a commuter school on downtown’s Auraria campus, is building its first student housing project, which is expected to be completed in 2027.
The university, which closed on a two-acre site at 12th Street and Auraria Parkway on Thursday, is spending $117 million on the Summit House project, a 12-story mixed-use residence hall.
The first floor will be home to dedicated to food locations — a restaurant and bar for the larger community and establishments catered toward students, like coffee shops and convenience stores, said Jim Carpenter, MSU’s vice president for administration and finance.
The second floor is slated to become a workforce initiative called the Classroom to Career Hub to connect students with jobs. The top 10 floors will be housing for 550 MSU students.
“This milestone project is about more than bricks and mortar; it’s about transforming the student experience and reimagining what it means to be a Roadrunner in the heart of Denver,” MSU Denver President Janine Davidson said in a news release.
The university will finance the student housing portion through debt that Carpenter said will be repaid using revenue generated by the residence hall. The Classroom to Career Hub will be paid for by private donations and state funding, she said.
Carpenter said the university — which serves more than 17,700 students with a large population of students of color and first-generation college students — does not plan to increase tuition or fees to pay for the building.
“Even with this, we’re going to have the second-lowest debt of any higher education institution in Colorado,” Carpenter said.
Officials don’t anticipate difficulty in filling the new building. A recent survey given to MSU Denver students found that one-third of participants commute more than 40 minutes to campus. More than 70% of participants who rent or live with family expressed interest in living on campus, the survey found.
“We’re pretty set in our commuter identity, but recognize a portion of our identity could benefit from having on-campus housing options,” said Taylor Tackett, MSU Denver associate vice president of student engagement & well-being. “There are a number of students who have challenges trying to find some affordable housing.”
While pricing wasn’t set in stone yet, Carpenter said it would be comparable to CU Denver student housing.
The Auraria campus is funding a second 12-story structure to provide around 330 workforce housing units available to income-qualified residents, including students, faculty and staff. The other building would also house the Auraria Early Learning Center, a child care center currently located on the south side of campus.
“We’re creating a downtown campus where learning doesn’t end in the classroom. It continues where students live, work and connect,” Davidson said.
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